6,252 calories and 1,245 grams of carbs: What it takes to fuel a winning ride at the Tour de France

New York Times

16 hours ago

Ben Healy crosses the line, claps his hands together, and raises them above his head. This is the best day of his life.
His soigneur, Soso Roullois, has seen dozens of best days over her 18 years at the team. The glee is always the same. Her protocol is not.
As Healy grinds to a halt, collapsing onto his handlebars, the first thing Roullois does is drape a cold towel over her rider's exposed neck. The second thing, seconds later, is to thrust a carton of cherry juice into his face.
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EF Education-Easypost describe this as a 'priority intervention'. The specific strain of cherries contains a high concentration of antioxidants, which soak up unwanted chemical byproducts of the day's exertions. It's not quite champagne yet.
But Healy still has duties to fulfil before he can lift his flowers. Each morning, EF's team chef makes a simple meal — today, it is a plain omelette and rice — and places it in the fridge of the team bus. This is the 'podium meal' — a quick hit for the rider to consume during media duties.
For the first five stages, each has stayed inside the fridge uneaten. That changed on Thursday.
Stage six was long, hot, and hilly — with EF inviting The Athletic to witness how they fuelled a rider during a day at the Tour de France.
On this day, that rider happened to win the race.
There is a competition going on aboard the EF team bus, outside the all-consuming competition of these three weeks. Each of their eight riders is the proud owner of a Tamagotchi, given to them in Lille — a miniature handheld computer game where an owner must keep their 'pet' alive.
They need to be fed every few hours, given water, and mucked out. Before long stages, riders sometimes need to check on their Tamagotchi pets just before they leave the bus. The winner — whose pet lives longest — will choose dinner for the squad in Paris.
Eight Tamagotchis — and eight riders who aren't looked after too dissimilarly. The Tour de France is as much of an attrition test as a bike race. You don't feed your Tamagotchi? You don't survive.
After Richard Carapaz's withdrawal, the team's attention shifted from the high mountains to chasing stage wins. Thursday is a day they circled in their calendar as their Tour's first major opportunity.
These tactical decisions affect their fuelling. A few days earlier, for example, on stage three's sprint stage into headwinds, EF had no chance of victory. The director sportifs instructed the team not to burn any more energy than necessary, launching another competition, this time to burn the fewest kilojoules possible. Australian rider Harry Sweeney won, and was rewarded with a miniature skateboard.
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Stage six is different. They fancy the chances of Healy, a 24-year-old Irish puncheur who finished third in this year's Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Frenchman Alex Baudin, and Neilson Powless, the only Native North American to have ever competed at the Tour. These riders are fed more calories at dinner the night before.
'We plan almost to the millimetre what the riders are going to do,' says Anna Carceller, the team's Spanish nutritionist. 'We study the stage, our riders' expected roles, the feed zones, and we need to anticipate their efforts.
'With stage six's profile, the first thing that comes to mind is the climbing, because they need to eat when the race is not too hectic — products that are easy to digest, and easy to manipulate with their hands.'
'The distance suits Ben,' director sportif Tom Southam says pre-stage. 'The terrain, too. It's quite like Liège, and Nielson and Alex have also been close there. Once we have one of those guys out there in the breakaway — it's game on.'
Powless and Healy are riding bikes with time-trial wheels for extra speed, but there are other details too. EF riders generally wear their radios on their fronts (rather than on their backs like most teams) for aerodynamic purposes, but one of the most important processes takes place at breakfast.
Both have consumed a form of hydrogel known as Maurten Bicarb. Cyclists have used sodium bicarbonate for years to boost performance by helping mitigate the effects of lactic acid, making the legs feel less painful, but a historic issue has been stomach issues and slow absorption rates.
The Maurten gel contains sodium bicarbonate as well as the usual electrolytes, and has been around for three or four seasons. It solidifies when it hits the stomach, hastening its progress into the gut, where it reliquifies and the body can take it in more quickly. The effects last all day.
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But the product can only be used sporadically throughout the Tour, primarily because it can lead to excess water retention, potentially raising a rider's weight before an important mountain stage later in this race. This was a sign that EF were all in.
'On the fuelling front, this is the first notably warm day,' Southam observes pre-race. Temperatures in Normandy would reach 27C (81F).
'So far, it's not been complex, there hasn't been much pressure on the feeds or coming back to the car. That's going to amplify today — they're going to want more water, they're going to need more carbohydrates. And that temperature is only going to intensify as we move south.'
Riders react differently in the heat. Some need to drink up to 50 per cent more water than others, with sweat levels playing a significant role. Before Thursday's race, some use a pre-hydration plan to top up on their sodium levels.
'We study not just their sweat rate, but also their sweat composition,' says Carceller. 'And we have a concrete prescription that is quite different for each rider. Since November, we've studied riders through all the temperatures they can face in the Tour, so we know how to support them.'
'The heat doesn't really change what we provide,' adds team doctor David Hulse. 'The contents are exactly the same, but we will do things like freezing gels, which almost create a slushy. By getting directly into your stomach as slush, it absorbs a lot of heat energy as it melts, which is a good way of cooling their cores.
'You'll also often see them with ice socks down the back of their neck — that doesn't actually produce any temperature change in terms of cooling, but it does create a psychological effect, like a kind of placebo.'
During hot races, the team also cool their bottles using portable coolers, but one of the riders' favourite tricks is new in the past two years — a special cup, purchased by the team from the TikTok shop. If the cup has been pre-frozen, it instantly turns pineapple juice into a slushy with one twist. They inhale it before stages.
The peloton has left the start town of Bayeux less than an hour earlier, and 39km up the road, an EF support van pulls over in a lay-by. Feeds are a major part of the day — an opportunity to provide riders with bidons (water bottles) and musettes (bags filled with gels and food).
Soso, standing first, is carrying an energy drink, while Hulse, at the back, has water. They always stand in that order, so the riders know which product is which.
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There have been major changes to feed zones this year, with rules introduced by the UCI, cycling's world governing body, to stop major teams from saturating the route with support, putting smaller squads at a disadvantage. The number of feeds each day is mandated — there are five today, plus one from the race directors' car — with team staff told exactly where they need to stand, and warned they cannot move more than a metre into the road.
Teams have complained to race organisers that some feed locations raise the risk of crashes — for example, the stops on the way to the intermediate sprint or at the end of a long descent — especially because riders will often work their way across the peloton to grab their drink.
Over half the peloton want to get in today's break, which will have a strong chance of reaching the race finish in Vire Normandie. But it has been difficult for any of EF's three favoured riders to get away — Healy has already attacked and just been brought back.
It means the peloton is particularly fast as it approaches the Côte du Mont Pinçon, where EF's bottles are waiting. As Michael Valgren, their Danish rider, approaches at high speed, there is an audible thump as he takes his bidon. Hulse is knocked back almost two metres. 'Boom,' he shouts in exhilaration, after successfully handing it off.
In some ways, breakfast is where EF's nutrition plan starts — 380g of rice porridge with berries, banana and maple syrup, six slices of white bread, and a three egg omelette — but in others, it is more useful to go back to last November, when the team first arrived at training camp.
Each cyclist has different concrete needs — the heavier riders require almost 7,500 calories each day, while others burn only 5,900. For context, most guidelines suggest the average man should consume 2,500 calories per day. The team's nutritionists have a dashboard where they design the make-up and calorie content of each meal for each rider, which the team can then access on their phone. They then log everything they've eaten, which tells them how close they are to hitting their nutrient goals.
For example, on stage six, Healy's breakfast demands are to consume 1,103 calories, including 225g of carbohydrate, 24g of protein, and 14g of fat. Breakfast is everything that happens before the race, lunch is the immediate post-race meal, plus snack, and dinner is their final meal at around 9pm. He hits every goal — and can be forgiven for exceeding his lunchtime fat target by one gram.
At the race, EF has a team chef, Owen, who is based in a mobile kitchen at each hotel, allowing the setup to be standardised. Before the Tour, he designs each day's menu based on the stage profiles.
How invested are the riders? 'Some will be very keen to understand all the reasons why they do what they do,' says Hulse. 'Others are happier not to use the mental energy. But Valgren says that this system is easier because it takes out the guesswork — they know they're doing the right thing, not hoping they are.'
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In many ways, meals are the easy bit, taken in a relaxed atmosphere where brains are working at full capacity. The real challenge comes during the race, where riders must keep eating while on their physical limit, sometimes moving over 60 kilometers per hour, and while navigating 176 other riders in the bunch.
'We have two different kinds of gels, each with different flavours,' explains Carceller. They live in neatly ordered rows in the middle of the team bus. 'Then we have two different flavours of two different types of bar. Then there are Rice Krispies cakes, and two more products that the soigneurs prepare. So we have nine or 10 options for the riders, depending on their needs.'
Back at the team bus in Vire-Normandie, awaiting the arrival of the riders, one of those Rice Krispies cakes is handed out. This one is Oreo flavour (Biscoff is the most popular), and it tastes cold, dense, and intensely of chocolate.
By this point, with 100km of the stage remaining, Healy is finally away, one of nine escapees in a strong group. Also in the breakaway are Mathieu van der Poel, one of cycling's 'Big Four', Giro d'Italia champion Simon Yates, and American champion Quinn Simmons. With the pace having averaged 45.8kph up to this point, over rolling hills, this was a tough stage — the previous day's flat 33km time trial was less than 10kph quicker.
'Maybe I spent a bit too much energy to get in the break,' Healy said afterwards. 'But that's just the way I do it. It was just on the pedals all day.'
It meant that his nutrition strategy had to keep up. Across the day, he would consume 6,300 calories.
'In the break, you start thinking about how to win the race,' explains Southam. 'What terrain's left and how to manage your fueling, because doing that in the first part when it's very busy with attacks is quite difficult. So getting enough in while you're jumping left and right… often, you need to catch up a little bit once you actually make the break.'
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Typically, riders will aim for between 90 to 120 grams of carbohydrate per hour — for reference, the UK medical guidelines for an adult male is around 275g for the entire day. But for elite athletes, getting through over 180km of cycling each day, their bodies have become optimised for maximal intake. In recent years, the amount of carbohydrates that some riders can consume has rocketed.
'Some guys are now training their guts to handle up to 200g/hour,' says Hulse. 'We've been aware of up to 220g/hour being tolerated. Now that takes training — in the same way that you train your muscles and your cardiovascular system, you're training your gut as well. But if you can absorb it, you can burn it.'
Healy, as a lighter rider, averages around 116g/hour over the stage — over half a kilogram of carbohydrate in four and a half hours, and more than a kilogram across the whole day.
A typical source of power in the second half of the race was the team's frozen gels, which are refreshingly ice cold, but with a strange saltiness that the lemon and lime flavouring cannot mask. EF has two lines — one has a two-to-one ratio of glucose to fructose, while the 'turbo line' has a ratio of five to four.
With 85km left, sitting in the bunch, Healy has a frozen turbo gel.
'The turbo line has a much higher fructose content,' Hulse explains. 'As an analogy, there are special doors out of the intestine. There are doors that only glucose can go through and doors that only fructose can go, but there's only a certain number of glucose doors — you can only absorb a certain capacity.
'Once you're saturated with glucose, you can't push any more through, but you can train the gut to have many more fructose doors. So it's useful towards the end of races, because fructose goes through different pathways — one goes to the liver, one gets stored in the muscles — so you can supplement your energy use.'
With 63km remaining, Healy's fellow Irishman Eddie Dunbar attacks, riding in the purple jersey of the Australian Jayco-AlUla team. Healy bridges over, reeling in Dunbar. At this point, he has just two or three feed points remaining, though he will consume around six more products over the 90 minutes of race time remaining.
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Poking through the bright pink primary colours, the black segments of Healy's jersey visibly show the dried sweat. His use of bicarb before the race will compensate for some of the losses, but he will drink water combined with electrolytes straight after the race.
By now, Healy knows he has to go solo if he is to win the stage. Van der Poel's sprint is too dangerous, while other riders, such as Yates and Michael Storer, are stronger pure climbers.
There are 42km left when Healy accelerates on a false flat downhill, coming deep and from the back of the group. He launches just before a rolling slope, meaning his chasers will have to increase their effort, while he can ride the momentum, and on a technical section. It takes them by surprise, and he quickly builds a 15-second lead.
'This is the f*****g kilometre of your life, mate,' Southam shouts from the team car as Healy attacks. 'Come on, this is the f*****g one.'
During his initial attack, Healy pushes 8.98 watts/kilogram for 41 seconds, moving at 61.6kph. The first 3km of his solo effort sees him average 5.85 watts/kg, after 160km of racing.
The numbers behind Ben's stage 6 win on his Wahoo ELEMNT BOLT 3 🤩#tdf2025 pic.twitter.com/ouC1BtqB1L
— EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) July 10, 2025
'He wanted to go in a technical spot somewhere with 40 to 60 kilometres remaining, to get a gap,' Southam said afterwards. 'I didn't want him to go on an uphill, and those technical areas aren't everywhere, so we just had to find the right place.'
Watching on the bus, EF's soigneurs have stopped chopping watermelon to watch, its flesh marrying with the team kit. 'Allez Ben Healy,' is the cry. The gnocchi on the stovetop, which riders will eat on the bus post-race, is momentarily unattended.
Gradually, Healy's lead grows. It ticks over one minute on the ascent of the 3.7km Côte de Saint-Michel-de-Montjoie, with just 30km to go. Simmons and Storer give chase, but cannot close the gap.
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Given how much energy Healy expended in making the break, his team are still watching nervously.
'He'll still be continually fuelling, even at this stage, with 30 minutes left,' says Hulse, with 20km remaining. 'It's perhaps a little less hydration, but it's gels, basically, literally whatever you can get down that acts fast. Squeeze it in as quickly as you can, you don't have to chew it, and it's absorbed quickly.'
Across the stage, Healy consumes seven chew bars, three gels, and four and a half energy drink bottles. It helps him sustain 5.6 watts/kilo over an hour-long attack.
Thankfully, in the closing kilometres, his effort is almost over. By the final drag to the finish, his lead over Simmons is two minutes and 44 seconds. Healy looks up to the sky in wonder.
'It's what I've worked for all my life. Not just this year, the whole time. It's incredible, just hours and hours of work from so many people,' he said post-stage.
'I've not seen many better rides,' adds Southam. 'It was unbelievable, and his legs were just unbelievable today. All the guys just got on the bus and said how hard it was.'
There, back in the air-conditioning of the bus, his teammates upload the information from the bike computers and fill in their fuel consumption during the race. This affects the size of their dinner. A recovery shake follows the cherry juice — this 20 to 30 minute window is key for the body to transform sugar into glycogen. Then it is time for gnocchi — back at the podium, Healy is tucking into his omelette and rice.
Dinner, later that night, is celebratory — hummus, sweet potato, pasta and homemade sauce. BBQ chicken thighs provide the flavour. EF's riders even get dessert, in the shape of banana bread and mixed berries — but the real treat is popped open by Healy in the last of the evening light.
'I just want to say thank you to everyone,' he says, holding the bottle of champagne. It is tradition that each member of the squad and support staff has a glass after a stage win.
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'You know this sort of thing is impossible without a team. It was a full team effort to get in the break today, and for sure a full team effort on the road, directing me and giving me bottles. It just comes down to these little margins, and that's what we've been doing perfectly here.'
In the car back from the stage, his race winner's duties having made him miss the team bus, he rhapsodises about his nutrition. 'Anna just gets it,' he says. 'She's amazing.'
But when she logged onto the tracking app, some hours after the race, Canceller might have been momentarily disappointed. Healy may be a Tour de France stage winner, but for the first time in months, he forgot to upload his dinner — and the glass of champagne.
What's more? He's lost his Tamagotchi too.
(Top photos: EF Education-Easypost/Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic)